


Sometimes My Thoughts Create Shadows

by Lil_Lottie



Category: Little Women (2019), Little Women Series - Louisa May Alcott
Genre: After the Events of Little Women, F/M, Infidelity maybe if you squint a little, Married Life, Paranoia, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 02:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29619012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_Lottie/pseuds/Lil_Lottie
Summary: The thing that surprised Amy the most about her marriage to Laurie was the fact his friendship with Jo went mostly unchanged. Even though it was improper and very childish, the two were still quick to tease each other, slap each other’s shoulders, and go on long expeditions.Amy didn’t mind. She would’ve felt terrible if she had come between them. Instead, she was delighted. When she was younger, she hated how Jo and Laurie always ran off and didn’t spare her a second thought. She yearned to be a part of their games. Now she was, in a way.
Relationships: Theodore Laurence/Amy March, Theodore Laurence/Josephine March
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	Sometimes My Thoughts Create Shadows

The thing that surprised Amy the most about her marriage to Laurie was the fact his friendship with Jo went mostly unchanged. Even though it was improper and very childish, the two were still quick to tease each other, slap each other’s shoulders, and go on long expeditions. 

Amy didn’t mind. She would’ve felt terrible if she had come between them. Instead, she was delighted. When she was younger, she hated how Jo and Laurie always ran off and didn’t spare her a second thought. She yearned to be a part of their games. Now she was, in a way. 

Laurie swore he loved Amy and Amy had little reason not to believe him. He yelled their love from the rooftops and went out of his way to parade her around. Every kiss on the cheek and gentle offering of his elbow made her feel like a princess—his princess. 

He didn’t love Jo anymore. Laurie said so himself. 

Jo never loved him. She said so herself. 

Still, there were times Amy felt like an outsider. She tried not to let it bother her too much. 

\-----

“I know I should be working on the sequel to my book, but every time I say I’m going to start, I suddenly don’t want to write it at all.”

Amy watched her sister from the corner of her eye. Jo ran her fingers over the books’ spines in the Laurence’s library, and Amy fiddled with the drawing pad in her hands. Laurie was sitting next to Amy, flipping through some Dickens novel’s pages, not reading it. 

“Perhaps we should go into town. It’ll cure your writer’s block and my eternal boredom.” Laurie said, closing his book.

“Yes, I think we should. If only to end our mutual suffering,” Jo spun around to look at Laurie. Amy noticed her sister didn’t spare her a glance.

“I don’t want to go into town.” Amy looked between her husband and her sister. She was perfectly happy to stay where she was.

“Then we don’t go into town.” 

Amy sighed, “You two can go into town if you wish. But I must ask you to bring me back one of those little cakes I love.”

Laurie leaned over and kissed her hand, “Of course, my lady. Anything you desire!” He stood and bowed to her—Amy tried her best to bite down a laugh. “Jo, to the carriage and with haste, my good woman!”

Amy watched as the two of them laughed all the way to the door and then out of it, both of them forgetting her entirely.

\-----

“Jo is going back to New York next week. She has a meeting with her publisher.”

“Does she?” Amy glanced at her husband as he fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. 

He nodded his head, “I said I’d go with her. Grandfather has colleagues he wishes me to meet with. At least this way Jo doesn’t have to be on the train for hours alone.”

“And am I invited on this trip?”

“Of course, my lady. Two is boring, and three’s a party, as the saying goes.”

The snort Amy let out was not dignified or refined, “As the saying goes.”

Laurie finally got his shirt off and grabbed his night clothes. Amy watched as he changed and climbed into bed. He pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek.

“My lord, it is wonderful you and Jo are still close.”

“I didn’t expect it, to be honest with you. There is a natural sort of feeling towards it. I’ve always imagined her by my side.”

“And me?”

Laurie smiled as he pulled Amy in for a kiss. He said nothing. 

She decided to stay behind.

\-----

Once Aunt March died, Jo moved into Plumfield. She said she would do something with it, maybe open a school, but the month’s passed, and Jo did little to see her dream through. 

“I’m moving back into Orchard House for a bit,” Jo told Amy one afternoon. 

“Oh,” was all Amy said. Selfishly, she preferred her sister in a large house miles away from them all. It meant Jo saw less of Amy’s husband. At least, that’s what she told herself.

Laurie was no stranger at Plumfield. 

Amy tried not to think much about it.

“But I’m only moving back because Marmee and Father are finally going away together. I bought them tickets to go to Boston for a week, and I’d feel terrible if Hannah was left in that house by herself.”

“I could visit her, Jo. There’s no reason for you to terrorize her every day.”

Jo smiled at that, “The only person I terrorize is you, and that is how I wish to keep it. You can come over for dinner and yell at me because I can’t cook, and then Hannah will tell you all about how I banned her from the kitchen.”

Amy nodded, “Is Laurie invited?”

Jo paused for a second and laughed to herself, “You know, for a moment, I forgot about him.”

\-----

At dinner that night, Amy asked Jo, “Do you think you’ll marry one day?”

Jo laughed so loud the table shook, “Never. I’ve said no to three men, and I quite enjoy keeping their broken hearts as a token. It’s good for my vanity.”

Laurie looked up at her, “Who was the third?”

“This man, William, at your wedding announcement party. He was drunk, and when he came up to me, he said I was the prettiest girl at the ball. He took my hand and begged me to be his wife and then threw up on my shoes.”

More laughter erupted from her sister and, surprisingly enough, from Laurie as well.

\-----

There was nothing going on between her sister and her husband. Amy knew this. She trusted them. Neither of them would act in a way that would hurt her. 

And yet, she still worried. 

It consumed her thoughts more than she cared to admit. Her mind wandered to what happened when her sister and husband were alone. Did they whisper their regrets to each other? Did they wish to run away and never look back? Did Laurie kiss her with a passion he didn’t think possible? Her stomach churned at the thought and she entered a restless sleep. 

_Jo was bent down near the fireplace, organizing her work. Laurie bent down next to her, trying to help her. His hand brushed hers, and then he took it, intertwining their fingers._

__

_“Jo,” his voice was soft as he brought her hand to his mouth. He placed gentle kisses on her hand._

_“Laurie, don’t.” She said, but she didn’t pull her hand away. She stared at him as her chest heaved._

_“I’ve missed you dearly. I ache for you every moment. These stolen moments do little to cool the desire that burns in me.” Laurie kissed her wrist and pressed more kisses up the soft pale skin that led up to her elbow. His lips scorched Jo’s skin leaving burns that shone bright red in the dim light of the room._

_Jo stared down at the marks, “Laurie.”_

_He smiled at her, “Now the world will know of our love.”_

Amy woke with a start. 

It was a dream. It was all a dream. 

She took in a large, shaky breath and then turned over. Laurie’s sleeping form calmed her, and she leaned forward to place a tender kiss on his lips. He smiled in his sleep, and she heard _Amy_ escape his mouth. 

Sometimes her imagination ran too wild. 

\-----

Instead of their regular afternoon lounge in the library, Amy found herself on the couch in Orchard House watching Jo play with the new kitten she had found. It was sweltering, and Amy couldn’t stop fanning herself with the pad she was sketching in. 

“Honestly, Jo, I’m not sure how you can wear such a thick shirt on a day like this,” Amy wiped the sweat off her brow and watched as Laurie came in, offering her a drink. 

_I’ve missed you dearly._

Jo rubbed at her wrists, and Amy couldn’t help but wonder if they were bothering her. Jo picked the cat up from the floor, “Charlie likes the long sleeves, and for once I am a slave to a man’s wishes.” Jo smiled to herself, amused by her own joke, no doubt, and she pressed a kiss to the small cat’s face. He was orange and white and reminded Amy of the cats that Beth kept around. She figured that’s why Jo kept this kitty. 

_His lips left burn marks on her skin._

Any couldn’t stop staring at the sleeves that covered her sister’s arms. On days like this, Jo would typically be improper and roll her sleeves to her elbows to get any sort of respite from the heat. Today, Jo kept her arms covered, and Amy felt her nightmare still haunting her. 

_Now the world will know of our love._

“What are you hiding under your sleeves, Jo?” Amy stood and sat next to her. She reached her hand out as if to pet the cat but instead pulled down her sister's sleeve. 

Jo’s arm was stained black from ink and decorated further with red scratches and bite marks. Her face turned bright red, “Charlie likes to bite and I’m stupid enough to let him.” Jo clutched the cat to her chest and fled the room, obviously upset.

Amy felt terrible for embarrassing her. 

\-----

“You upset Jo today.” Laurie looked stern. He was upset.

“Did she tell you that?” 

“Of course she did. You are my wife, and if something you do upsets someone, it is my job to fix it.” 

Amy can’t bring herself to look at him. She felt ashamed for letting her thoughts run wild. 

“I only wanted… I only wanted to see…” she wondered if she should confess what’s been haunting her. Laurie would probably laugh and say she should let Jo tell the stories, not her. Perhaps she should take his—her own—advice. 

“I’ll apologize tomorrow. I don’t know what came over me.” 

Laurie smiled and took her hand, pressing a kiss to it, “Good. I hate when you two fight.”

“I promise you, my lord, next time I have a real fight with my sister, it will be over something important.”

And not over things she imagines are happening. 

“Laurie, you are… happy to call me your wife, right?”

Laurie looked at her as if she was making some kind of joke, but then his face dropped, as if realizing the seriousness of her question, “I love you, Amy. Calling you my wife gives me a happiness I didn’t think possible. I don’t know why you’re even asking.”

Because of Jo.

And it’ll always be because of Jo.

Nothing is happening between Laurie and Jo. She knows this. 

At least, she hoped that was the truth.


End file.
